


An Unexpected Visitor

by watermelonriddles



Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: Blood, F/M, Gunshot Wounds, Injury, Stitches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-27
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-11-06 07:56:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17935844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watermelonriddles/pseuds/watermelonriddles
Summary: When locking up her house for the night, the last thing Beth expects to find is a bruised and bloody Rio in need of some stitching up.





	An Unexpected Visitor

**Author's Note:**

> Set post season 1.

Beth had grabbed herself a glass of water and was heading over to the backdoor to lock it when she heard a noise. She stilled, listening out for a moment, and she realised that something was tapping against one of the glass panels on the backdoor. It wasn’t very loud but it was persistent enough that she couldn't just ignore it and hope it would be nothing too serious when she opened it in the morning

“Hello?” she called.

There was no response. The tapping was still there but each one was a little further apart. She grabbed the handle and just as she opened the door, it was pushed forward and she stumbled back, her glass crashing to the floor. By the time she straightened up, Rio was laid out on the ground in front of her.

She nudged him with her foot. He groaned and his eyes opened for the briefest of moments before closing again. His face was covered in cuts and parts of it were swollen and red. She crouched down beside him, his hand was covered in blood and she realised it was coming from near his stomach. She carefully inched his shirt up to find a bloody piece of cloth wrapped around his middle.

“Mama?”

Beth snapped up at the sound of Emma’s voice. “Stay there, bubba! There’s glass everywhere.”

“What’s that noise?”

“Mama broke a glass,” Beth said. She pulled Rio inside a little more before shutting and locking the backdoor. “Stay by the stairs, I’m just coming.”

Luckily, Emma did as she was told. She was stood silently on the bottom step with her bunny, Carl, in hand. Beth headed over and crouched down in front of her. She held Emma’s other hand and rubbed soft circles on the back of it with her thumb.

“What’s going on, bubba? Did I wake you?” Emma nodded and Beth smiled. “I’m sorry. Why don’t you go back up to bed? I’m just going to clean this mess up and I’ll be right there to tuck you in.”

“Promise?” she asked, hugging Carl to her chest.

“I promise.”

Emma wrapped her arms around Beth and kissed her cheek before running back up the stairs. As soon as she was out of sight, Beth hurried into the kitchen. Rio was still there and she was pretty confident that she wouldn’t be able to move him on her own so she grabbed her phone and rang Annie.

It seemed to last forever before she finally answered. “Can I call you back?” she said as soon as she picked up. “My movie is getting to the good part and I want to finish it while I’ve got the place to myself.”

“How long is Sadie at Gregg’s?”

“He’s bringing her back tomorrow morning.”

“Good,” Beth said. “Forget your movie, I need your help. Right now. It can’t wait. You can’t make excuses. Call Ruby and get here.”

There was a momentary pause as the background noise at Annie’s completely died down. “Beth, what’s going on?”

“He’s here at my house,” Beth said. “He’s-”

“Who’s at your house?” Annie said, sounding a lot more serious now. “Do I have to bring a gun?”

She blinked a few times. “Where on Earth would you get a gun?”

“Well, I can’t but Ruby could get Stan’s.”

“No, no, no.” Beth shook her head. “Look, I haven’t got time for this. Rio is in my house. He’s bleeding and unconscious.” She tilted her head to the side as she looked at him. “At least I hope he’s unconscious.”

“Well, check!”

“I will!” She listened out for a moment to make sure Emma hadn’t come back downstairs or any of the other kids. “Emma woke up. I got her back to bed but I can’t help Rio and keep an eye on them, I need you both here.”

“Right, right. I’m coming, we’re coming.”

As soon as the words were out of Annie’s mouth, Beth hung up the phone. She crouched down beside Rio and checked for a pulse. For one incredibly long second, Beth couldn’t find one but then there it was. It wasn’t particularly strong but she had definitely found one. The material around his middle would have to hold for now until she could make sure that they weren't going to be interrupted again.

Quickly, she headed toward the stairs and luckily enough she got there just as Emma was coming back down them. Beth motioned for her to turn around and together they headed back to her bedroom. Once they were inside, Emma ran to her bed and crawled under the covers.

“Sorry I took so long,” Beth said. “I wanted to make sure I got all of the glass.”

“What happened?”

“Mama wasn’t being careful.” She tucked Emma in and sat on the edge of the bed. “I was washing up a glass I used and it slipped through my hands.”

“Silly.” Emma smiled.

“Yeah, it was silly,” she replied with a smile of her own. “I’m silly.”

As Emma yawned, Beth leaned down and kissed her forehead. With Carl tightly in hand and the night light switched on, Beth didn’t have to wait too long before Emma closed her eyes and curled up into the fetal position. As quietly as possible Beth tip-toed out of the room and shut the door before going to each of the bedrooms to check on everyone. She wasn’t about to risk one of them waking up and coming downstairs as well. Luckily, they were all asleep and hopefully it would stay that way.

On her way back down, Ruby and Annie came through the front door. They met by the stairs and she showed them to where Rio was still lying. Beth stepped around him and brushed as much of the glass to one side as possible

“You need to help me get him up,” she said. “I want to try and get him on the table.”

“You can’t be serious,” Ruby said. “Leave him there, let’s call an ambulance.”

“Oh, yeah, right. That makes sense. 911? Yes, could you send an ambulance, there’s an inner-city gangbanger bleeding out on my kitchen floor.”

Ruby looked at Beth and then to Annie who raised her eyebrows. “Yeah, alright.” She sighed with defeat. “Let’s do this.”

Between the three of them, they managed to get him to the table. It was getting him up onto it that took the most effort but they eventually did it. At least he was unconscious which meant he couldn’t complain because there as no way it wouldn’t have hurt.

“Annie, can you go upstairs and keep an eye out?” Beth asked. “Make sure the kids don’t come back down?”

“Yeah, I got them.”

“What the hell happened to him?” Ruby hissed.

“Hell if I know, I heard something tapping on my door and the next thing I know he’s lying on my floor,” Beth said as went and grabbed the first aid box. She passed it to Ruby who had followed her. “Go and empty that out. Make sure everything is easy to reach.”

While Ruby did that Beth grabbed a bowl of water and the lighter from the cupboard above the microwave. When she got back to the table, everything was spread out. She placed the bowl and lighter down amongst it all and then inched Rio’s shirt up properly. This time she could also see there were bruises forming over his chest too.

She took a pair of the gloves and passed another to Ruby. Once they pulled them on Beth grabbed the scissors and began to cut at the makeshift bandages. As they were pulled away she got her first real look at the wound. It seemed to be a bullet hole, a few inches to the side and it would have just grazed him, missed even. It was still bleeding but luckily enough it wasn’t gushing everywhere.

“Oh, Jesus,” Ruby groaned, closing her eyes and shaking her head. “Is it still in there?”

“Uh…” She grabbed Rio and rolled him onto his side. Ruby held onto him while Beth pulled the material away to reveal a second hole. “No, I think it went right through. Hang on a second.”

Beth ripped off some pieces of tape and lined them up on the table. She then grabbed some gauze and pressed it to the wound. She added the pieces of tape to keep it in place. It wouldn’t last but at least it would keep the wound covered and secure until they could get to it. When she gave the all clear, they gently settled him back down. Beth grabbed some cloth and soaked it in the water. As careful as she could, she cleaned around the wound, wiping away the blood so she could see a little better.

“Grab some gauze,” she said. “We’re going to have to pack it, see if that stops the bleeding but we might need to stitch him up.”

Ruby grabbed the gauze but she was shaking her head. “No way.”

“I don’t know why you’re complaining, I’m going to be stitching him up.” Beth put the cloth to one side and grabbed the gauze from Ruby. She pressed it against the wound and applied as much pressure as she could. They waited but the blood began to seep through. “Okay, heat the needle.”

“What am I doing?” Ruby muttered under her breath as she grabbed the needle and began to thread it before holding it above the flame.

Beth continued to hold pressure in the meantime. When the needle was almost ready to use, she grabbed the antiseptic wipes and cleaned around the wound to make sure the area was as clean as possible. When Ruby handed her the needle she didn’t hesitate and jumped straight into stitching him up. She wasn’t quite sure what she was doing but it was closing the wound up and it looked fairly neat. In the end she told herself that Rio would kill her if she took him to a hospital and she didn’t know anyone who could stitch him up properly without asking questions.

Once it was done, she cut the thread and tied a knot. This time she grabbed the antiseptic spray and used that over the wound before taping some gauze over the top. Together, she and Ruby carefully rolled him over and they did the same thing all over again to the wound on his back. This time they were able to work quicker and more efficiently. With everything stitched up and covered, Beth grabbed the bin and disposed of all of the used items. She then cleared the table enough for her to climb on to it.

“What are you doing?” Ruby asked.

Beth ripped off a long piece of tape and stuck it to the edge of the table closet to Ruby. “We’re going to lift him. I’ll hold onto him and you wrap the bandage around his middle. I don’t know how good my stitches were so I want as many layers to stop any potential bleeding.” Ruby looked at her in disbelief. “What? If he dies here, I’m dead.”

“You think you can hold him up?”

She shrugged. “I’ll have to.”

Ruby didn’t look too convinced but together they lifted him up into a sitting position. Beth sat far enough back that they were able to lean Rio forward a little. His head rested on her shoulder and she put his arm over her other shoulder to try and make him a bit more secure.

“Okay, go,” she said, once her arms were around him.

As Ruby wrapped the bandages around his middle, covering both the front and back wounds, Annie’s voice came from behind them. “What the hell is going on?”

“Go grab a pillow from my room for his head,” Beth said, ignoring the question. “And a blanket.”

By the time Annie came back Ruby was finished. Once the pillow was placed on the table, they lowered him back and Beth climbed off of it. She pushed the unused items back into the first aid box then placed the blanket over Rio.

“Why aren’t you upstairs?” Beth hissed.

“Everyone’s asleep,” Annie assured. “I couldn’t hear much down here so I thought I’d better check. We good?”

“Well, he’s not dead,” Ruby said as she checked for a pulse. “He’s probably going to be in a lot of pain and very angry when he wakes up.”

“Let’s hope whoever shot him didn’t follow him,” Annie said. She was laughing but immediately stopped at the sight of Ruby and Beth staring at her in disbelief. “Sorry, just trying to make light.”

“I wonder why he came here,” Beth mused.

“Uh huh, I bet you do,” Ruby said.

When Beth looked up, they were both giving her knowing looks. “What?”

“Oh, come on,” Annie scoffed. “You’ve always been closer to him than we have.”

Ruby’s lips were pursed a little as she nodded her head. “She’s not wrong.”

Beth waved them off dismissively. “Can you guys stay until he wakes up? I can’t handle him and four kids on my own. Especially if he’s not up by the school run.”

“Already told Stan I’m staying,” Ruby said as she carried the first aid box back into the kitchen.

“I told Gregg to take Sadie straight to school in the morning,” Annie said. “I’ll pick her up from there.”

As Annie went into the living room, Beth pulled up a chair and sat down near Rio’s head, prepared to wait all night if she had to for him to wake up.

* * *

It was something nudging against her arm that woke Beth up but it was the groaning sound and soft string of swear words that made her sit up straight. Rio was trying to move from his spot on the table and Beth had to literally force him to lie back down. His face twisted up in pain but that seemed to hurt as well.

“Where am I?” he asked.

“You’re at my house,” she said. “It’s Beth.”

He finally seemed to relax. “Right, right. What happened?”

“You were shot I think,” Beth said. “I don’t know how that happened but I stitched you up. I figured you wouldn’t want anyone else involved.”

Rio’s fingers lightly brushed against the bandages. “Nah, you did good.”

“What happened? Why did you come here?”

She thought for sure that he would dismiss her, refuse to give any details, but to her surprise he actually answered. “One of my boys. Decided he wasn’t making enough. He got in a few hits,” Rio explained, motioning to his face and then to his chest. “We fought and the next thing I know, he’s got a gun.”

“You were patched up a little when you got here.”

“Yeah,” Rio said as if all of the details were slowly coming back to him. “My boys did it. There was only a few of them there when it happened. Most of them went after him, couple stayed behind to bandage me up.”

Beth nodded a little and ran a hand over her face. “So how did you get here?”

“We had to pack up our spot quickly,” he explained. “I told one of them to bring me here and leave me. They should be sorting everything out.”

“How do you feel?” Beth asked as she stood up.

“Everything hurts,” he said. “Head feels less hazy though.”

“Don’t move.”

She headed into the kitchen and grabbed her box of medicine from above the fridge. On her way there, she noticed that the blood and glass from earlier had been cleaned up. As she pulled out the strongest painkillers she had she made a mental note to take the bins out before she filled a glass with water. When she got back to him, she took out a couple of tablets. He took them from her and put them in his mouth. She carefully lifted his head and helped him to drink some of the water.

When he settled back down his eyes were closed. Beth took the glass back to the kitchen so it wouldn’t be knocked off and when she came back, he opened his eyes enough to peer at her before he closed them again.

“You’ll need to get those stitches seen to,” Beth said. “Make sure they’re okay. Also, I think the bullet went straight through but you never know.”

“Elizabeth.” He placed his hand over hers. “Stop worrying.”

“Why did you come here?”

“I told you.”

“No.” Rio looked at her then. “Why me? Why not go elsewhere? I’m sure you know people who could properly stitch you up.”

He lifted his hand off of Beth’s hand then slipped it underneath so he could hold it properly. “I trust you.”

Her eyes narrowed a little. “I don’t trust you.”

“Yeah.” He chuckled but then immediately hissed at the pain. “I remember you telling me.”

Beth looked him over and then up at the clock. It would be time for the kids to get up for school in a couple of hours and there was no way he would be up and about by then. She had to get him moved before they saw him.

“Okay, time to get up.”

“You told me not move,” he mumbled.

“I know but I can’t have my kids coming down for breakfast and finding you here.” Beth got up and went through into the living room. She nudged Ruby and Annie who were both curled up on the couch. “I need one of you to help me get Rio to my bedroom.”

“Is now really the appropriate time to make your move?” Annie asked.

Beth rolled her eyes. “Hilarious. The kids will be up soon.”

She held her hands up in defense. “Fine, I’ll help.”

“I’ll make sure nothing looks out of place,” Ruby said.

All of them in agreement, they went back into Rio who managed to smile at the sight of them. “Wow, I got three ladies looking after me.”

“Don’t get used to it,” Annie remarked.

Beth went to Rio’s side and helped him to get up. He sat on the edge of the table for a moment before stepping down. With Beth and Ruby to lean on, he was able to stay upright. Together they walked towards the bedroom, taking it slow, one step at a time. Now and then Rio would curse or hiss at the pain but they pushed on. Beth could not afford to stop and have one of her kids stumble upon this image.

As soon as they were by the bed he practically fell into it. With a little help, he was able to lie down properly. Beth gave Annie the okay to leave and once she was out of the room, Beth sat down on the edge of the bed.

“You could have died on my kitchen floor.”

Rio shook his head and reached out to hold her hand again. “Nah, sweetheart. I know you would never let that happen.”

He closed his eyes again and after a few moments, Beth felt his grip on her hand loosen. She could see the low rise and fall of his chest but he was out for the count. Whether it was exhaustion or the pain, she didn’t know but at least he was settled. Not knowing what else to do, she shut her bedroom door and then dragged the armchair from the corner of the room to his bedside. She sat down and propped her feet up on the bed, at least here she would be between him and the door if anyone came in. There wasn’t really much else she could do so for now, she would let him in rest. Dean would drop by to take the kids to school and then she could figure out what she and Rio were going to do next.

**Author's Note:**

> Look, I'm not saying I want something bad to happen to Rio but I also wouldn't complain if we got to see him all bloody and a little bruised up, y'know? We kind of got it at the end of 1x10 so just a little bit more of that would be grand. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Also, feel free to let me know if there are any important tags you think should be added! :)


End file.
